Morning Cup of Joe
by genovia's queen
Summary: Clarisse and Joseph share the same guilty pleasure, but Clarisse's pleasure is a bit more guilty than Joseph's.
1. Chapter 1

**Morning Cup of Joe**

Clarisse had been having trouble sleeping. Her dreams were being plagued with images of Joseph and her thoughts throughout the day were just as haunted. Therefore, she was up earlier than usual and decided to surprise Joseph by meeting him at his office that morning instead of him meeting her in her suite.

She walked into his office only to find it empty. His coffee was on his desk, still steaming, so he couldn't be far. She inhaled a deep breath, savoring the aroma of the blend he was drinking that morning. She recognized it as one she had given him on his birthday. With a self-satisfied grin, she decided to wait and took the seat behind his desk.

Clarisse had never been fond of coffee, however, it was one of Joseph's guilty pleasures. If she were being honest with herself, she would have to admit the scent of his coffee was one of _her_ guilty pleasures. Not so much because she loved the smell, but more because she looked forward to the moment Joseph would step into her suite every morning. He always had a new gourmet blend in his cup and the scent filled her suite, teasing her senses. Teasing because she knew without question it was him. Knew when she walked out of her bedroom she would be the recipient of that seductive smile he reserved just for her as he drank in her appearance. Knew she would spend the rest of the day fighting off the semi-aroused state he always caused when he cocked his eyebrow and released his deep rumble of, "Your Majesty" when greeting her each morning.

Only a heartbeat had passed before she heard a barely audible string of Spanish curses coming from the closed door that led to his sitting area.

She was not prepared for the scene that was about to greet her.

As she peeked around the corner, she found Joseph. He was blocked from her view by the open door of the armoire he was now rummaging through. With one final curse, he slammed the cabinet door. Only then did he realize he wasn't alone in the room. He caught a glimpse of Clarisse in the mirror on the front of the armoire. She was standing frozen in place with her mouth gaping.

Clarisse was not able to find the strength to formulate a coherent sentence as she stood staring at Joseph. The sight before her was a magnificent one.

"Joseph..." she managed to eek out on a whisper. She shook her head, trying to gather her thoughts. Licking her suddenly dry lips, she cleared her throat then tried again. "Joseph, where are your pants?"

tbc

_*A/N: I know this first chapter is pretty short. I promise the following chapters will all be at least twice this long. I just couldn't make this chapter any longer without adding unnecessary filler material and I didn't want to do that._

_As always, comments are welcome._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2  
**

When he heard his office door open, Joseph didn't pay any attention because he just assumed it was Shades dropping in to check on him. Therefore, he was not prepared to find Clarisse's clear blue eyes piercing him with what could only be described as a gaze clouded by blatant desire.

"Joseph..." she managed to eek out on a whisper. She shook her head, trying to gather her thoughts. Licking her suddenly dry lips, she cleared her throat then tried again. "Joseph, where are your pants?"

When he didn't immediately answer, she started to cross the room.

Being so caught off guard by the look in her eyes, Joseph barely managed to choke out the words, "Blood. I got blood on my clothes. I thought I had a spare change of clothing in here." The words came out in a jumbled rush. He knew he sounded ridiculous but that was the best he could do with her staring at him as if she could devour him at any moment.

She came to an immediate halt when she realized he did, in fact, have blood on his shirt. Looking around, she also located the pants on the sofa and saw the large stain on them, too. All thoughts of Joseph's state of undress vanished as she did her best to remain calm as she closed the distance between them. She reached out to touch the stain on his shirt and only then did she note the gash in Joseph's side that had, until that point, been hidden by his shirt. The intense desire that burned in her eyes moments before was now replaced with panic and fear.

The wound had been stitched up, and it was obvious to her he had already seen the doctor, but the wound was rather large and she couldn't shake the feeling of fear.

Joseph never even had a chance to explain what happened before her eyes started swimming with unshed tears. He simply opened his arms and she stepped into his embrace.

The wound looked much worse than it actually was but he was not about to tell Clarisse that. He wanted to take advantage of the moment. To enjoy the feeling of her in his arms. He'd been in this situation with her many times. She always took comfort in the safety of his embrace. She was never shy about seeking that comfort and he was never shy about offering it, however, he had never been half-naked while in this position with her. Until this point, it had always been an innocent offering of strength and reassurance. Today was different and he was going to enjoy it just a few moments more before enlightening her about the morning's events.

Joseph could feel the instant Clarisse realized she was pressed against his naked flesh. Her hand, resting on his abdomen, suddenly tensed. A second later she relaxed again and slid her hand up, grazing across the hair on his chest, then circling around and coming to rest on his lower back, the other hand between his shoulder blades, clinging, holding him tight against her.

He eased back from her just a little so he could look into her eyes as he recounted the story. She listened as he explained he was training with Lionel this morning. He and Joseph were doing knife fighting exercises to pass some time before the day officially got underway. They had just completed the training exercises and Joseph had turned to talk to Shades when Lionel, being clumsy and awkward, managed to accidentally stab him in the side.

As she listened to Joseph's story, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed by her overreaction. But she also couldn't help but feel a sense of relief after realizing he was going to be fine. She decided the relief far outweighed the embarrassment. He had known her far too long to be shocked by her reaction. They had always been close, but during the last few years, that relationship was steadily progressing to something more. More than friends, but not yet lovers. They both yearned to take that next step, but the vulnerability and fear of ruining the solid relationship they already shared had always kept them from putting voice to their feelings.

He wiped away a stray tear from her cheek just before she leaned in and pressed a kiss to his chest, trailing up to his neck, his chin, before placing a final kiss to his lips.

The kiss was not filled with lust or desire. Instead, this kiss was teeming with love. Just a light brush of her lips against his, saying with actions what she was too afraid to say with words.

She hesitantly started to draw away but he reached out and cradled her face with his hands and drew her back into his embrace, back into another kiss. As she surrendered to him, she realized this kiss was a declaration. He was letting her know she was not alone in her struggle to make sense of exactly what they were to each other. He was letting her know she had an ally and together they would figure this all out. What was shocking to them both was, of all the circumstances they could have imagined leading up to this declaration, neither would ever have guessed Lionel would be responsible for the situation that caused them to finally openly acknowledge their feelings.

Joseph nipped Clarisse's bottom lip with his teeth. On a gasp, she opened for him and smiled as his tongue sought entry. She was more than willing to oblige. The kiss grew more intense and Clarisse's hands began to roam. As she spread his shirt open and started easing it past his shoulders, she was very much aware of the fact she was pressed against Joseph's body while he was clad in nothing more than a pair of silk boxers.

Just as the urgency was becoming overwhelming, they heard the door knob to Joseph's office rattle...

tbc

* * *

_*A/N: I'm sorry this update has taken so long. A special thanks to Ancorns708 for being my second pair of eyes on this one._


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